Ghosts of the Past
by moondustbeam
Summary: Alfred Jones can see ghosts. It's a gift (or a curse) that he got from his father, Arthur. However, when a ghost named Kiku shows up and asks for Alfred's help with his murder, it's up to Alfred to put Kiku to rest. Ameripan. Rated T for language. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my new AU! I actually cried when Scars was finished. So hopefully I'll be just as emotional about this new one. By the way, Matt and Al are not related in this one. Just so you know. Mentions of drug use and bad language. Anyway, enjoy!**

Alfred F. Jones was never the type of person to go after ghosts. In fact, he loathed the creatures with all he could possibly muster. Not because he was afraid of scary things. Oh no, he was brave. At least he liked to think he was. He could watch horror movies left and right, although he was still scared of them. But ghosts? He could never deal with them.

Because he knew they were real.

They would come into his father's shop and ask for assistance. Some were fresh ghosts, others had to travel across the seas after long years of searching for a person to end their woes. His father, Arthur, would gladly help them out. Arthur was always interested in the supernatural, and had the gift of being able to see them everywhere. He relished in the fact and vowed to help as many ghosts as he possibly could. But Alfred? He pretended he couldn't see them.

This, of course, made life hard for Alfred. Imagine walking down the street and seeing a crazed, blue woman crying for her baby. If you made eye contact with a ghost, they knew you were able to see them, and would never leave you alone. Alfred had to walk right through them sometimes as other people did, pretending to be another mortal passerby. It always made a chill run down your spine, as if the air you had just walked through were cold and unfeeling. Have you ever had such a feeling? You just ran through a spirit.

Alfred was walking the streets of a murky New York as he slammed through hundreds of ghosts without a glance. It was a cold and rainy evening, and Alfred was not in the mood to deal with these people. Or rather, former people. Now they were nothing but the mere hollows of what was left from a human being. They never knew their full lives, only bits and pieces. And what scared Alfred more than anything was knowing that people only become ghosts if their death was an unsolved murder. Or rather, the ghost never found out how they were killed. That's what Arthur strived to fix, and what Alfred tried to avoid.

"Can anyone hear me? Hello…?" asked a boy around sixteen years old. Alfred was going to stop and ask the boy where his parents were, until he noticed something. His blood ran cold.

A red spirit. They had to avoid these. They were spirits who died with some sort of hatred in their hearts, and would attempt to fool those able to see them. Once they did, they would blow them up right on the spot. Have you ever heard of spontaneous combustion? Red spirits. They were the worst kind, and they definitely went to The Bad Side once their murder was solved. Arthur only helped good ghosts, the blue ones, as the red ones were left to the Reapers. People who could see spirits and chose to send the red ghosts to their graves.

As Alfred was technically a Helper, one who only dealt with the blue spirits, he kept walking as if he had never heard the young man. A Reaper would eventually spot him and snatch him up. They couldn't harm regular people, anyway.

It started to rain, so Alfred pulled up his hood over his face. Why did New York have to be so rainy? He grumbled and pulled his jacket closer to him, picking up the pace. New Yorkers were always in a hurry, and Alfred was no exception. He dashed around corners, zipping right through the little puffs of blue smoke that stood in his way.

"Alfred?" said a man with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses. "Is that you?"

Alfred nodded, shivering from the cold. A spirit then walked right through him, sending another chill up his spine.

"No, Matt, it's the Tooth Fairy. Now let me in, I'm fucking freezing."

Matthew Williams, age twenty-seven, frowned at his best friend shivering in the rain. Alfred really was a troubled kid. He'd never do what his father asked, no matter how easy the task was. All he did was come over to Matthew's tiny apartment to bum weed off of him and play video games. Plus, he didn't even have a job. He could easily work with his father helping lost souls, but instead chose to sit around on his ass and browse the web all day.

"You could say please instead of being a little shit to me, you know," said Matthew as he crossed his arms.

Alfred let out a little huff. "Let me in, _please_, before I break your fucking door down."

Matthew wasn't going to argue with that. After all, his door had a new finish just added to it. He stepped aside and opened up the door, letting the soaked Alfred into his humble abode. Alfred rung out his jacket on the steps before walking inside and setting it on the hanger at the entrance.

"Dude, do you have that uh…" Alfred struggled to think. "'The Walking Dead' game? They said it was really great online."

Matthew rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen to prepare apple cider. He pointed over to his XBox, which Alfred happily ran over to. He started to sort through the titles as Matthew turned on his Keurig.

"You got it! Awesome. Did you buy it with your bonus check?"

Matthew pulled out some mugs from his cupboard, dusting them off on his sweatshirt. He couldn't tell how old the things were, but he hardly ever used them. After all, the only company he ever had was Alfred. And all he and Alfred ever did was a.) smoke b.) play games and c.) have the occasional makeout session. Sometimes it was all of the above. Most of the time, really. But he couldn't help but feel that Alfred was merely using him sometimes. They were not lovers, oh no, just friends with some benefits. Not in a relationship, either. The attraction was never there, but the lust was clearly present.

"I'm so stoked to play this game, you have no idea. Got any joints rolled up? I need to fucking relax, man. My dad was bitching at me all morning about helping him with some old dude from Turkey. He thinks his wife may have murdered him. Anyway, wanted me to help. So I said no and came over here. Could I crash?"

Alfred never stopped talking, and it got on Matthew's nerves. Sometimes only a kiss would shut him up, but he really was not in the mood for kissing such a brat. Alfred, although twenty-six years old, still acted like a stupid teenager. He needed to find a real job, like Matthew. An accountant. Matthew was living the life.

"Dude...this pot sucks. What is this, grass? Like, literal grass? Ew. I'm not smoking today, forget it. Get your ass over here and let's start this game."

Alfred had dug through Matthew's pile of weed and scrutinized it like the little asshole he was. Matthew scowled as he placed the mug underneath the Keurig and pressed the button. Warm apple cider started to drip from the machine and fill up the mug underneath. It was a Christmas present from Arthur a few years ago, and Matthew used it nearly every day to make his coffee instead of going across the street and buying an overpriced cup of NYC Starbucks.

"Matt, come on-"

"I'm getting you a drink, dick." Matthew blew the one piece of hair that was always sticking out away from his face. Really, Alfred was a rude man. Still, he was the only friend that Matthew had. He honestly felt like one of the ghosts that Alfred was constantly ignoring the pleas of. Nobody really noticed Matthew or gave him the light of day...except Alfred.

"Hurry up, man. I already started. Look! The main dude is some badass-looking black guy. I think we play as him. I love it already."

Matthew rolled his eyes as he grabbed both of the mugs, being careful not to spill them. He set them down next to Alfred, whose face was lit from the glow of the television.

"Here," said Matt as he handed Alfred a mug. Alfred took it carefully, then leaned forward and planted a rough yet sultry kiss on Matthew's lips.

"Thanks." He grinned with a devilish smile. "Now let's play the game."

Matthew tried his hardest not to blush. Really, Alfred was pretty damn handsome. His eyes were a piercing blue, so bright that they were almost icy. His skin, despite being in the cold, was smooth and tan, almost as if he lived on a tropical island rather than a murky and cold city. His hair was a light blonde, like the color of shimmering duck fluff. It always looked incredibly soft, and Matthew loved to run his hands through it as the two of them would kiss on Matthew's couch.

The game was quite an adventure, with zombies being thrown into their faces left and right. Alfred would merely jump and grin, seeing how he wasn't very scared when it came to video games. Movies, however, scared the shit out of him.

"Hey, Alfred...do you think people can become something other than ghosts when they die?" asked Matthew as Alfred slaughtered zombies left and right. Alfred started to groan and paused the game.

"Why do you care? Not this shit again, Matt…we've tried everything, okay? We can't find his ghost because he wasn't killed. He already went to The Light. Leave me alone."

Matthew had been bugging Alfred about his father for the past few years. Francis was his name, and he perished due to an infection in his lungs. Matthew missed his father with every inch of his being, and would beg Alfred to contact him on the other side every chance he had.

"Just...try again. For me? Can't you talk to them up in Heaven?"

Alfred ran a hand down his face. Matthew was always going on about his dad, and Alfred refused to help him every single time he brought it up. Which was quite often.

"Matt, I already said I wasn't sure about Heaven. I just know that ghosts turn into light and vanish once their murder is solved. Only the blue ones, though. If you're red, you're fucked. They light on fire and scream and stuff." Alfred shuddered and resumed playing the game.

"What about my dad? Was he blue?"

"I don't know, Matt," said Alfred as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. "I don't know anything about this ghost business."

X

Alfred looked up at the night sky, which didn't really help in indicating if the rain had stopped or not. Nevertheless, he pulled his hood over his head and began the short walk over to his own house, where his uppity father probably stood with his foot tapping the wooden floor.

Alfred scowled at the thought, then turned onto his street. Really, he didn't mean for his life to end up this way. He had stayed at home all his life because he didn't really know how to do much else. The past few months were quite fuzzy to him anyway. All he could remember was playing games and mooching off of Matt. And who would hire a kid (well, adult) who could see ghosts everywhere he turned?

Speaking of those ghosts, he noted two red ones staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He tried his hardest to avoid their gaze and look like another human who was walking by. Really, he didn't feel like dying today.

As he got to his house, or rather Arthur's, he slammed his keys into the door as fast as he could. He could feel the crimson spirits staring at him, as if all they needed was one little sign that he could see them so he could be burned to a crisp. His hands shook as he tried to put the key in upside down.

Suddenly, he saw a pair of shockingly wide eyes staring at him from the left. They were right near his face, the red eyes unblinking. Alfred just stared as if he could see straight through them, and focused on getting the door unlocked. Ignoring ghosts all the time did have its perks.

Once he get the door open, he slammed it shut. Arthur kept a barrier on the door that didn't allow ghosts in unless they were invited by a Helper. And he really didn't want those two creepy red ghosts coming in the house.

As he walked into the living room, he saw Arthur sitting with a blue ghost by the fire. The ghost was an elderly gentleman, dressed up in clothes from an older era. When he noticed Alfred looking straight at him, he smiled and waved. However, Arthur was not in a good mood when it came to Alfred. Arthur scrunched his bushy eyebrows together and gestured for Alfred to say something to the strange spirit in the room.

"Hello," said Alfred with a growl. "Who are you?"

The man shrugged and took a sip of Arthur's tea that he was drinking. Ah, it was an old spirit indeed. Only the older ones were able to lift objects, never the newer ones. Humans, whether they were a Helper, Reaper, or human, couldn't touch ghosts. But ghosts could touch human objects if they'd gained enough self-control from hundreds of years of practice.

"He isn't sure. We were just discussing Victorian England together, which is where he is from. Alfred, please go investigate the area near my garden outside. I think there's been an intruder there. It's not protected like the house is."

Alfred rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen to grab a soda. The whole thing was stupid to him, helping ghosts. Why help them if they're already dead? They weren't really people to him.

"Henry, would you like some more tea? And you are more than welcome to stay up in the guest bedroom if you'd like. We own about ten, so keep in mind that other ghosts may be occupying the rooms...excuse me. Alfred! That meant now! Go out and look in the garden."

Alfred wanted to punch him. Instead, he grabbed a Coke from the fridge and slammed the door shut as hard as he could. Arthur mumbled something about that behavior being quite rude as Alfred opened up the back door and walked out into the garden.

Ah, yes. Arthur's garden. A vast array of beautiful flowers, filled with roses, daffodils, petunias, and every other flower that you could imagine. And Alfred hated all of them. Allergies.

Alfred scanned over the garden quickly, not seeing a single thing. He was about to go inside and tell Arthur that he was just being fucking crazy like always when he heard a noise coming from the shed where Arthur kept all his tools. Could a ghost be in there?

Alfred crept forward slowly, his shoes making squeaking noises on the damp grass. What if it wasn't a ghost, but a robber hiding out in a shed, eating bags of fertilizer and waiting to strike? What if a homeless person was sleeping in it again? Wouldn't be the first or second time. Alfred inched over to the door and pressed his ear against the cool metal of the shed.

Nothing.

There was nothing for Arthur to even worry about. After all, who cared if it was a homeless guy? Alfred pulled back the metal door of the shed. At least it wasn't a…

"Oh my God!" Alfred screamed as he came face to face with a blue, glowing figure. It was a young man, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, with short bangs and a small, shaking frame. And this man looked absolutely terrified.

"What is it?" the ghost screamed, sounding like he was about to cry. "Is it a roach? Get it away! I hate roaches!" He began to stomp at the floor as if the insect in question was scurrying beneath him as they spoke.

"No, you!" yelled Alfred.

If ghosts could get any paler, this ghost would have paled. "Oh my...it's on me?! Get it off! Swat if off or I swear, I will cry!"

What kind of stupid ghost was this one? He was on the verge of tears because he was scared of a bug, when he himself was a feared supernatural creature.

"No, you're a ghost!" Alfred sputtered, trying to look away.

The ghost breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Alfred with a quizzical expression. It floated a little closer to Alfred, which was a sign that he was a fairly new ghost. They weren't able to ground themselves until a few months after being dead.

"I am. You can see me! Wow…" the ghost muttered. "I've been trying to find someone who can hear me for a few days now, and I-"

Alfred slammed the shed door shut. He really wasn't in the mood to have a heartfelt conversation with this Asian-looking ghost that he randomly found in a gardening shed.

"I can walk through walls!" The ghost pouted as he appeared from the side of the shed.

Alfred groaned and started to walk back to his house. The ghost immediately floated after him, looking nervous and scared. Alfred, however, slammed the door in his face for the second time. The ghost tried to go through the door, but he couldn't. It was the only thing he was able to touch, so he banged on the door in an attempt to get someone to finally notice him.

Alfred cracked open his soda and ignored the sounds of little hands attempting to break down a door. It was cute, really, that the ghost thought Alfred would talk to him. Alfred decided it would be best if he went upstairs and watched TV for a few hours to get the ghost off his mind.

After watching about four seasons of a show in one night on Netflix, Alfred started to feel bad for the poor guy he'd left out in the night all on his own. After all, he was a new ghost and didn't know anything. The least Alfred could do was show him the ropes.

The ghost had been sitting miserably on the steps for the past several hours. After all, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't go through the door to meet the man who had just spoken to him, but nobody else hadn't even batted an eye in his direction. He was scared, confused, and completely lost. The door slowly creaked open and the ghost sat up like it was a dog and its owner had just come home. Alfred appeared at the doorway, inviting the ghost to come in.

"You can come inside now. I'll talk to you," mumbled Alfred, and the ghost bowed to him.

"Thank you very much," it said as it floated into the house. As soon as it came in, its eyes lit up with a sense of childlike wonder.

"Cool house," it remarked, looking around. "How old is it?"

"Older than you, probably. You're a new ghost," said Alfred as he trudged up the stairs. The ghost hesitated, then decided he might as well follow behind Alfred.

"My name is Kiku," the ghost said as they reached the top of the stairs and started traveling down the long hall to Alfred's room. "What's yours?"

"Alfred."

Kiku smiled. He knew his name! Wow, what a great start for them.

"I-I don't know much else about myself. I think I was killed or something. Also...I think I'm Japanese."

Alfred shook his head. "No way. You couldn't have come all the way from Japan for the time that you've been dead. You're American. Plus, why were you in my dad's shed?"

Kiku shrugged his shoulders.

"Exactly. Ghosts usually stay around a place they went to in life, or were near. They have no idea why. So if they died in their house, they might show up at the park near it. You probably lived around here and died recently. People get killed constantly in New York, but yours should be easy. We can dig up your file and have you gone in a few days."

"Did you know me?" Kiku asked, cocking his head.

"No," said Alfred. "I don't know any skinny Asian dudes, nor do I remember seeing you around. You probably lived near Central Park, since I never go over there. Too many flowers."

Kiku wasn't sure if being called skinny was an insult or a compliment. With Alfred appearing to be slightly muscular and broad, it was probably an insult. Alfred was looking at all the doors upstairs, each one with a red light above it.

"Dammit…" Alfred muttered as they reached the end of the hall. "All occupied."

"What does that mean?" Kiku asked, worriedly floating right behind him.

Alfred rubbed at his temples and groaned.

"It means you're gonna have to stay with me for the night."

X

Kiku wasn't really sure what he should think of Alfred's room. With his clothes and his attitude, he expected beer cans everywhere and a completely messy bed. Instead, he was met with a neat and organized room, with books galore. Alfred had two bookshelves in his room, each filled to the brim with literature. Kiku wanted to pull them out and read them, but he couldn't.

"Your room is very nice," Kiku said as he put his hands behind his back and shifted from side to side, waiting to be told what to do. Alfred was pulling back the covers and getting into his bed, but he hadn't told Kiku anything.

"Thanks. Goodnight." Alfred reached over to turn off his lamp.

Kiku took this as a cue to get in bed next to Alfred. After all, he did say that he was going to stay with him. That meant sleeping in the same bed with him, right?

Wrong.

"Dude, what are you doing? Go stand in the corner or some shit!"

Kiku, who was floating off the bed even though he was laying down, looked over at Alfred with a confused face.

"Look, you can't even get under the covers. There's no point. Go lay down on the floor over there."

Kiku started to get up, but he really didn't want to. "But if I sleep on the floor, I'll get lower back pain."

"You can't get any back pains anymore. You're dead, okay? You can't do half the shit you did in life. You're nothing but blue mist now, so you don't need a bed anymore. You don't need anything. Hell, you can't even touch the ground now. You're not human, Kiku. Get over it."

Alfred rolled over away from Kiku and closed his eyes. He was drifting off to sleep when he heard soft sniffles coming from the corner of the room.

"What is it now?" Alfred murmured sleepily.

"I-I am human," Kiku sniffed. "At least, I was."

Alfred tried not to show the ghost any sympathy. "You're not anymore," he told him as drifted off into sleep.

**Poor Kiku. Damn. Just so y'all know, I love The Walking Dead games. I've played 1 and 2. Lee is fucking amazing. So is Clem. Also Kenny even though he's a dick sometimes. This AU came out early! So enjoy the early Christmas gift. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey y'all. This AU will be seven chapters long, but the length of the chapters is much more than in Scars. I hope you will all enjoy this one, because I'm really pumped about it.**

Alfred woke up to discover Kiku looming over him. His small yet delicate eyes were staring straight at Alfred, almost dreamily. Even though he was a ghost, he wasn't like a doll where everything was glued to him. Kiku's hair, now blue despite being another color in life, hung from his head and framed his face whilst looking down.

"What the hell were you doing?" shrieked Alfred as he sat up. He was still wearing his clothes from last night, too exhausted to even change. His hair was sticking out in every direction, and...he hadn't brushed his teeth yet. Ghosts were able to smell things, too.

"Watching you," Kiku replied. He was floating about ten feet in the air, but posed as if he were lying on his stomach. He waggled his fingers at Alfred and offered a pleasant smile.

Alfred moaned and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. Why was this ghost so obsessed with him? This is why he chose not to be involved with them. They always got attached and talked nonstop. And since you couldn't touch them, convincing them to leave you alone was all you could do. But when someone couldn't be touched, fly, and walk through walls, why did they have to listen?

"Why were you watching me sleep?" Alfred said groggily as he stood up and walked to the bathroom across the hall. Kiku followed right behind him, still floating a few feet in the air.

"You're cute. Your hair is cute, too. Messy. Can I touch it?"

Alfred tried to swat Kiku's hand away, but all it did was move Kiku's misty hand ever so slightly before it shifted back into place. It sent a chill up Alfred's spine, just like every time he touched a ghost.

"You can't touch it, Kiku. You can't touch anything now. Get used to it."

Alfred picked up his toothpaste and began to squeeze out a pea-sized amount onto the brush. Arthur always made him save toothpaste, since he was completely stingy. When Alfred looked up and started to run the water in the sink, he saw Kiku in the mirror. He hovered behind Alfred, trying his best not to look at him. But Alfred could tell that Kiku looked heartbroken.

"Sorry, but it's the truth," said Alfred before putting the toothbrush in his mouth. "I don't want to lie to you."

Kiku nodded, then disappeared through the door. He didn't look like he believed in Alfred's half-assed apology. Alfred, however, could care less about the feelings of a spirit. He resumed brushing his teeth and then combing out his hair, putting on a fresh layer of deodorant, then spraying on a bit of cologne.

When he walked back into his room to change clothes, Kiku was looking through his things. He couldn't touch anything, of course, but he was looking to see if Alfred had left any books out with the pages open. Kiku loved to read, but he was unable to read anything unless it was a simple billboard or a man's newspaper on the subway.

"Alfred, do you have any books that a ghost could read?" Kiku asked reluctantly. He was trying very hard to find something he would be able to busy himself with. It was the curse of being a ghost. Quite a boring life. Sure, you were immortal, but with nothing to do then what was the point of living?

"No," Alfred replied curtly, then pointed his finger to the door. "Get out. I have to change clothes."

Kiku opened his mouth as if to say something, then realized that Alfred was being completely reasonable. It was just the way he said everything. He was incredibly rude. Nevertheless, Kiku nodded his head and left Alfred to his personal business. When he entered the hall, he could see countless other ghosts walking about around the house.

"Hello," Kiku said to an elderly man walking by. The man tipped his hat off to Kiku and resumed walking downstairs.

Kiku wasn't sure of where everyone was going, nor why Alfred had so many ghosts in his house. Did Alfred help out ghosts a lot, or did they just annoy him? Kiku hoped he wasn't annoying Alfred by following him around.

"Alright, everyone! I have some more news for Heracles. I pulled up a file last night, and I think…"

Kiku was startled by the sudden voice coming from downstairs, so he went over to investigate. Peeking his head through the staircase and hiding as best he could, Alfred could see that an older man, perhaps in his forties or fifties, was reading off some documents to a crowd of ghosts. His eyebrows were insanely large, and his hair looked to be the same as Alfred's.

"So, Heracles, I think we'll have all the details on your murder tomorrow. Everyone needs to bid their goodbyes to him tonight."

Wait, the man with the big eyebrows could see ghosts too? Kiku found himself inching closer and closer as all the ghosts clapped politely, patting a ghost with longer hair on the back. Did the man with the large brows in a sweater vest help out ghosts? He said he found a file on a murder...and acted like he was helping those ghosts. Unlike Alfred, who was only selfish and rude to them.

Speaking of Alfred, he had finally dressed and came out into the hall. When he saw Kiku watching his father, he scoffed.

"Watching my dad help out the ghosts? Don't worry, I'll help you with your case. Don't go to him."

Kiku's eyes lit up. Alfred cared about him.

"Because I want to surprise him. I wanna show him that I helped get a dumb ghost thing to The Light. Damn, he'll finally get off my back."

'Dumb ghost thing?' Kiku's heart sank. He was just another ghost to Alfred, one that Alfred was just using to ensure that his father was proud of him. But...that meant that Alfred would help Kiku move on. That's all that Kiku really needed, but...he couldn't shake the feeling that he had with Alfred. He was determined to become Alfred's friend.

As soon as the ghosts cleared and Arthur went into his office, Alfred slid down the staircase to go downstairs and grab a soda. Kiku wanted to seem cool, so he tried to make it look like he slid down the staircase as well.

"We're going to see Matt today. Hopefully he's got some weed or something," said Alfred as he chugged his soda.

"Oh...why would you want him to have weeds in his garden? Aren't those bad?" Kiku cocked his head.

"Pot, dude. Pot. Weed."

Kiku still didn't understand what pottery had to with anything, but he kept his mouth shut. He could remember things about society, but not his own life. It was honestly frustrating him. He knew where Central Park was, but not his own house. He knew what a house was, but he had no idea if he even owned one. He knew where Japan was located on a map, but didn't know if he was from there or not. He could tell that he was Asian by looking at himself, but knew nothing about his family history. All he did was wake up in a forest and think about his name. His name was Kiku, and that's all he knew about himself.

Alfred grabbed the keys off the hook and strolled out the door. Kiku followed behind him, being careful to duck out of the way from anyone who was walking near him.

"Kiku, you don't have to do that," Alfred mumbled.

"I know. I just don't like them running through me. Makes me feel less human."

How many times did Alfred have to explain to Kiku that he was no longer human? After all the times he'd told him, he still insisted on retaining his humanity. Ghosts had a hard time accepting that they weren't human anymore.

As if he could read Alfred's mind, Kiku piped up. "I know I'm not human anymore, but I was. I wasn't a giraffe or anything."

Alfred snorted and rolled his eyes. Maybe Kiku wasn't as dumb as he thought.

"Yeah, but you're not now. You are a ghost. A spirit. An apparition. And my job as a Helper is to get you to The Light."

Kiku frowned. "So Christians were correct? I don't think I was Christian in life…"

"No," said Alfred as he turned the street corner. "I'm not sure of who is correct. I don't even know if God is real. But ghosts are. And the good ones turn into a white light and fade away. I have no idea where they go."

"Heaven, I suppose," said Kiku with a smile.

"None of them have talked to me since they faded, so I wouldn't know. And Matt keeps asking me to fucking talk to his dad. We can't do that."

"Why can you see ghosts, though?"

"Some people can."

"Why?"

Kiku was like an incessant toddler, and it annoyed Alfred to no end. He decided he'd start turning the questions on Kiku.

"I don't know. It's genetic though. But I have some questions for you."

Kiku lit up at the thought of Alfred paying attention to him. "Yes! Ask me anything; I'd be happy to answer you."

"Okay. One. What color were your hair and eyes?"

"I'm not sure. I think I'm Asian. So black hair and brown eyes, I guess."

"Last name?"

"No idea. Kiku is Japanese, so it's probably a Japanese one. Why?"

There he went again with the 'why' thing. Alfred didn't like answering Kiku's constant stream of questions, though he knew that Kiku had a lot of them. After all, the guy had just died and found someone who could answer things for him. Still, Alfred hated answering the same things over and over in all the years he'd been a Helper.

"Helps me to dig up whatever I can about you. Do you know how you died?"

"No...I woke up in a forest, though."

"Not a hospital?"

"No."

"Your body is still in the forest, then. They may not know you died there yet, or someone killed you and buried you there. Did you watch as the person buried you?"

"N-no…"

"Then you died a slow death. In the forest."

"W-why was it slow? And my body is still there? Are you sure?"

Again with the questions. "Yes. If they had tried to save you, you'd have Awakened at the hospital. If someone died a slow death, it takes longer with them to Awaken. So a lot of ghosts Awaken at their graves, or where they were buried. If they died slowly. My guess is that someone killed you in the woods, you died slowly, and they buried you. That's why you were there. Which makes my job a hell of a lot harder. Because unless people cared about you, they probably won't have too many articles about you going missing. People go missing in New York all the time. And with you being dead for about a month or so, I'd say they've given up."

"I'm sure someone...cared about me…"

"We'll see. Matt can pull up anyone's house on his computer. If a ghost recognizes something from their past, they get a new memory. It doesn't work on people, but it works on material things."

Alfred turned down a street that lead to a few small apartments. He walked up the stairs to the bottom floor, then knocked sharply on the wooden door.

The door swung open to reveal a man with chestnut-colored hair and glasses. Kiku noted that he looked smart and mature, and completely done with Alfred just by looking at him.

"Yes, Al?"

"Pull up all the addresses on your computer. I need to see something for a ghost I got with me."

"Actually doing your job?" Matt asked in a snarky tone. He unknowingly closed the door on Kiku, but the ghost just floated through. He really couldn't blame Matt, since he couldn't see spirits. Well, Kiku hoped he couldn't. Otherwise, he'd be just as rude as Alfred.

"Yeah, asshole. And you just slammed the door in his face."

Matt looked around the room as if he were trying to spot where Kiku was. "I'm sorry, ghost!" he shouted to the air.

"His name is Kiku," Alfred stated from the kitchen, where he was rummaging through the snack drawer.

Matt's face froze. Kiku? His blood ran cold. He knew a Kiku.

"Kiku? Kiku Honda?"

Kiku's brain suddenly clicked. Honda...that was his last name. He remembered now. His name was Kiku Honda.

"Yes! That was my name! My last name was Honda...I remember now!"

Alfred gripped the Rice Krispie in his hand. Matt knew Kiku in life...which meant he'd be a great help to them. He raced out of the kitchen and grabbed Matt by the shoulders.

"He said that's his name. You knew Kiku?"

Matt raised his hands in a defensive position. "I knew him, yes! Well, barely. I knew his name from around town. I never actually saw him. He worked near me, I think. I can't believe he died…"

"Me neither," Kiku mumbled, staring at the floorboards.

"Quick, what else do you know about him?"

"I don't know anything else. I'm sorry."

Alfred ran a hand through his hair in exhaustion. Matt had helped them a bit, but he didn't help them much. They had a last name now. That was a good sign, especially in New York. You didn't meet many Japanese people in NYC, so a 'Kiku Honda' would be easy to find.

"Kiku, can you remember working near an accounting firm?"

"No."

"We'll stop by Matt's work and see if you recognize anything later. Matt, what would people say about him? Can you remember?"

Matt looked up in thought. "Nothing that would give anything about him away. They'd just say, 'Oh, Kiku said that' or 'Kiku Honda was in charge' or something. I did notice that people stopped talking about him, but I didn't think anything of it."

"How long ago did they stop talking about him?"

Matt shrugged. "I really couldn't say."

Kiku hung his head. He'd hoped to learn more about what kind of person he was. He didn't even know what kind of job he had. He just knew his job was near an accounting firm, whatever that was.

"Get on your computer and pull up that thing where you can scroll through all the houses," Alfred said as he shoved Matt into the living room.

"Google maps?"

"Yeah, whatever. Just pull up all the houses near mine."

Matt sighed as he trudged to his computer and pressed the start button. Both Kiku and Alfred watched him nervously as he pulled up Google Chrome and started his work. He entered in Alfred's address, then hit street view.

"Here," said Matt as he stood up. "You can do it. Just click the arrows to go down the street. I need a drink."

Alfred started to scroll down the street as Kiku watched intently. Kiku tried to see if he recognized any of the houses, but to no avail. They scrolled down every street they could, taking nearly an hour to do so. They even went far away from where Alfred lived. Nothing. Kiku didn't recognize any of it.

"Damn, maybe you did stray more than we thought. My dad could really help, but...I don't want him to have to help me. I want to show him I can do this on my own," Alfred said with a sigh. He leaned back in the computer chair, nearly tipping it over. Kiku tried to grab it.

"Dude, you can't grab it. New ghosts can only grab stuff if they have a strong feeling. If they really want to use the object. Wait another hundred years."

Kiku hung his head. He really didn't know anything about being a ghost.

"Hey, Alfred. Why are you doing your job now?" said Matthew as he emerged from the kitchen. He was carrying two glasses of wine, having already drank half the bottle while he waited for Alfred to finish up on his computer.

"I wanna show my dad I can actually do my job if I want to," Alfred said as he took the drink. "I just think that he has it in his head that I can't help ghosts because I'm stupid." He took a sip, then looked at Kiku. "Can you even drink?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I think I'm at least twenty-one. I look older than you."

"You look thirty or so. Too bad you can't drink at all. Bottoms up."

Both Matt and Kiku scowled at Alfred's rude behavior. However, Matt wanted to kiss Alfred, because it turned him on ever-so-slightly when Alfred spoke like that to him. He was never romantically attracted to Alfred. In fact, he hated him. But Alfred's demeanor made him lust after the man sexually.

"I gotta go help Kiku find the workplace," said Alfred as he drowned his wine. He really didn't know how to savor his alcohol properly. "So we gotta go. Come on, Kiku."

"O-oh, okay!" Kiku got up and left as Alfred raced out the door.

Matt picked up the wine glasses and carried them into the kitchen, grumbling the whole time.

X

"Really, dude? Not a single place?"

They'd been walking down the street near Matt's accounting firm for nearly thirty minutes. Kiku didn't recognize any of the buildings.

"But Matthew said I worked here...in one of these. Maybe they just knew me."

Alfred ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the sky. It was getting dark, so they might as well head home. After all, Kiku had an eternity and Alfred was not dead just yet. Helpers remember their whole lives when they die, except for their deaths. So even if Alfred died, he'd still be able to help Kiku. They could wait another day.

They walked back to Alfred's house, completely exhausted. They'd wasted the whole afternoon walking around the city, hoping that Kiku would remember something. Alfred ate dinner in his favorite diner as Kiku merely watched, then they headed over to Matt's work. Nothing. Nada. They didn't get anything for Kiku to have memories.

As they walked down the street, Alfred saw a glint of something from the corner of his eye. He barely thought anything of it, but the same streak appeared again on the other side of the street.

"Alfred, did you see that?"

Alfred looked in front of him as another flash appeared about fifty feet away from them. It was getting closer, whatever it was. And it looked…

"Red," Alfred murmured as he walked faster.

"Huh?"

"Red spirit. Don't look at it."

Alfred started to run, realizing how stupid of a mistake it was. The red spirit appeared right in front of him. Its eyes were bulging, unblinking, as it stared right at his face. Alfred tried his hardest to ignore the demon ghost as it smiled and cocked its head. He was absolutely terrified of the things, but tried not to show any signs that he was frightened.

"Alfred!" Kiku yelled. "What is that?!"

That was all the ghost needed to send a blazing inferno after Alfred, who dodged it as fast as he could.

"Oh, fuck. Kiku, run. Now!"

Alfred dashed around the corner, trying to get to his house. As a Helper, it was his only safe haven. He had no way to disperse of a red spirit, but he sure as hell could be killed by one. The ghost could kill Kiku as well if it ever touched him...but it could kill Alfred from a distance.

Alfred ran in a zigzag pattern, mapping out how far away his house was in his head. He heard the ghost laughing behind him, a cruel and evil cackle, like a demonic cacophony. It didn't sound like it was that far away, and Alfred hoped it hadn't grabbed Kiku.

"Alfred!" Kiku yelled, right next to him. For someone without vocal chords, he was pretty loud.

"Kiku, just keep flying, okay? We're almost to my house."

"What is that thing?"

Alfred hopped the fence as fast as he could, tearing through the neighborhood. He didn't even care if anyone saw him running. It was a matter of life or death. He started to sweat as he felt his chest heaving from the amount of running he was doing. Pumped full of adrenaline, he jumped three fences in a row.

"Red spirit. Just keep going and don't get close to it-"

Alfred yelped as a ball of fire ignited near his foot. He barely missed it, and kept running as puffs of fire were lit right in front of him. He dodged them all, trying his hardest to get to his home in the distance.

But just as he was almost there, a shadowy figure dropped down in front him. Alfred came to a halt, panting and staring at the dark, cloaked man. He knew exactly what he was, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The man in the cloak raised his arm and chanted a spell. Alfred and Kiku turned around to watch as the red ghost was locked in a pillar of light, screaming and banging on the spell surrounding her. It was a teenage ghost, female. She had long hair tied into two ponytails, and her red eyes glowed as she yelled out in agony.

Another person in a cloak appeared behind the spirit, raising a scythe over their head. They brought it down, cracking the pillar and the ghost along with it. A fire erupted from the carnage, and horrible wails were heard. Alfred could never look as those things happened. He'd seen it many times, but it broke his heart to hear the red spirits scream. It didn't matter how bad they were. To him, it just sounded so heart-wrenchingly pathetic.

The cloaked figure holding the scythe pulled their hood back, revealing theirself to be female. Her long, wavy brown hair blew in the cool night air as she walked over to her partner. He, too, pulled back his hood, showing off a head of snowy white hair.

"Awesome, Elizabeta! We helped those two guys out." The Reaper with the white hair raised his hand for a high five, but Elizabeta didn't return it.

"Yes, and they could have been killed. You can see ghosts, right? You're Arthur's son. I'm Elizabeta, a Reaper. And that's Gilbert...he's kind of stupid." Gilbert had already pulled a phone out of his cloak and was texting someone, as if to confirm her statement.

"What about you? You look familiar...don't you live over on Brook? At least, I think you did," Elizabeta stated as he squinted at Kiku. She gave off the impression of being a strong woman, one who took charge of a situation.

"Yeah," said Gilbert, as he played the snake game on his phone. "You're Kiku Honda. You lived in that house they're putting up for sale on Brook."

Alfred was completely dumbfounded. They'd worked all day to get a clue about where Kiku lived, and it took them getting chased by an evil spirit to figure it out. He looked at Kiku, who was just as shocked as himself.

Elizabeta grabbed Gilbert by the arm, who moaned about messing up on his game. The two set down Elizabeta's scythe, standing on it like a skateboard.

"Wait!" Alfred yelled. "The Brook Lane that's thirty minutes away? What else can you tell us...wait! Stop!"

Gilbert kicked the back of the scythe and the thing started to rise into the air. "You need to find out about it yourself, Alfred! That's a Helper's job, not ours!" He held onto Elizabeta as the scythe blasted off into the air, sending the two off in the distance.

Alfred sighed and sat down on the street. He would get clues, but no elaboration. How in hell did his father do it? He picked up a rock and threw it into the yard across from his own.

"W-we have another clue, Alfred. That's good, right?" Kiku smiled as he hovered above the depressed man, trying to bring him some comfort.

"I guess," Alfred said as he mumbled into his hands. "But I need to borrow a car."

**Merry Christmas Eve-Eve, Americans! :D I'm honestly excited for Christmas this year. I'm sorry that these chapters are going so slowly, but it'll get way more interesting soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alfred is kind of an asshole. But he has his reasons. You will see. ;)**

It was quite awkward to ride in a cab knowing that a ghost was right next to you. Kiku was hovering, but trying his hardest to sit down. He even reached for his seatbelt before realizing that was completely useless. He was already deceased, and it's not like he could touch it to begin with.

The driver, an elderly man, drove them across the city to get to the home in the pleasant little neighborhood. Each house was made of brick and oak, with white picket fences and artificial-looking grass. They drove down the street carefully, looking for the house that could be Kiku's.

"You mean this one?" the driver finally asked.

Alfred pressed his face to the window. A large 'FOR SALE' sign was in the front yard. It had to be it, right? After all, the two Reapers said it was for sale.

"Kiku, look," Alfred whispered. Kiku phased right through the roof of the car and hovered over to the house, staring at it. He promptly turned around, wide-eyed in shock, and gave Alfred a thumbs up.

"This is it. Thank you, sir." Alfred pulled out some cash from his pocket, but the driver refused.

"You're Kirkland's boy, correct? That man helped me connect with my wife when she died. I could never repay him enough. It's on the house, son."

Alfred wasn't about to argue with a free cab fare, so he opened up the door to hop out.

"Wait! Here's my number!" the cab driver called. He scribbled something down on a little notebook and handed it to Alfred. "Just call me whenever you're done. I'll come and pick you up."

Alfred smiled the best he could and nodded at the driver, who then drove away. He turned his attention to the disgustingly nice house in front of him, complete with a white paint job and small oak tree in the front yard.

"Kiku, you had such a bad taste. This is so suburban white people."

Kiku was looking around the outside of the house, swirling around it frantically. He was getting awfully excited.

"I remember it now! Alfred, this was my house. I would come home from work, a-and I would park my car in the driveway right here! I...I would open the door...and…"

Kiku's voice trailed off as he looked at Alfred. Ghosts were much harder to see in the dark, but Alfred could read Kiku's expression. He seemed confused. But for what reason, Alfred didn't know. He wasn't really the best at reading the atmosphere.

"I'm going to pick the lock. You don't mind, right?" Alfred fished in his wallet for his credit card.

"N-no...but...I'm not sure if the security on the door works. I remember the code, though. Eight-nine-five-seven. Try it first."

Alfred punched in the numbers on the electronic door handle. Sure enough, the light came up green, and the door clicked open.

"A dog…" Kiku said sadly.

"What?" Alfred stepped into the threshold, paying Kiku's comment little attention.

"I had a dog. He'd greet me at the door. His name was Pochi."

"Pochi? What kind of dog was he?"

"Shiba Inu. I wonder what happened to him after I died…"

Alfred looked around the house, which was completely stripped of all its furniture. In fact, it was completely empty.

"Well, unless you had family who took him, he probably went to the shelter. They kept him for a week, then he died. Too many dogs in NYC shelters. Also, dogs automatically go to The Light. They're all good, and they can't have unfinished business. Take comfort in that."

Kiku was heartbroken. He remembered Pochi's tiny face, yipping and licking Kiku's hand as he bent down to pet him. Every time Kiku opened the door, Pochi was there to greet him. Pochi was completely loving and sweet, so somebody must have taken him. There's no way his dog could have perished along with him.

"I don't think I lived alone, either...or maybe I did. It's honestly so fuzzy to me. Wait...I have unfinished business?"

Alfred climbed the stairs as Kiku floated next to him. "Yeah, unfinished business. Meaning you were killed. Only people who were murdered become ghosts. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes by accident. If someone accidentally gave you an olive when you were allergic, it still counts as murder. And you can't move on until you have justice. Most of the time, that means we have to kill whoever killed you."

"Wait...I have to kill someone in order to move on?"

Alfred nodded. "Probably. Don't worry, killing a murderer won't make you a bad person, so you won't turn into a red ghost. Though I'll have to do it. But I don't think it'll make me a red ghost, either…"

"I could turn into a bad ghost?"

Alfred flicked on the light switch. It still worked. "Yes. Happens all the time. Usually the murderer dies before the ghost can kill them, so it's impossible for the ghost to move on. They get filled with rage, and...yeah."

Kiku bit down on his lip. He really didn't want to be like the woman that he and Alfred encountered earlier.

The lights in the hallway were dim, but they worked. Alfred and Kiku went to the room on the right first. A bathroom.

"I got ready in the mornings...I remember that. My job started early. And I think I remember yelling at someone else...I think I had a wife."

"A wife?" Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I was married...or I had a girlfriend. I wonder if she died. Can't remember her face, though."

Alfred turned the bathroom light off as the went to the room across the hall. It was a large room, quite spacious and with a built-in closet. Alfred strolled over to the middle of the room, looking like he was measuring something.

"What is it?" Kiku asked.

"This room was definitely big enough to hold a huge bed. Chances are, you didn't live alone."

Kiku looked around the room, but it was hard to remember anything without seeing much. All that was in front of them was an empty room.

"Let me open this…" Alfred remarked as he stood in front of the closet. He swung open the doors, showing a spacious closet that was completely empty.

"I hung my shirts in there, I think."

"What else would you hang in there?" Alfred snorted. But this time...his voice lacked malice. He almost sounded as if he were joking with a friend.

The two traveled all over the rooms, looking at completely empty spaces. There was another bedroom, another bathroom, and a room with a heater. Nothing made Kiku remember, so they headed back down the stairs and into the vast, empty living room.

"I'm going to go over to Matt's house and see what I can gather on Kiku Honda. You wanna go back home and chill? You've been following me around a lot."

Kiku shrugged. He really didn't have anything to do other than follow Alfred around. But he realized that Alfred probably wanted to be left alone after Kiku was with him all day.

"I guess I can go home and speak with the other ghosts…"

Alfred looked out the window to make sure that everything was clear. "Yeah, okay. Just don't let my dad know about you, okay?" He opened the door quietly as he gestured for Kiku to follow him outside.

"Right," Kiku replied. "Because I'm your ghost, not his. You want him to be proud of you."

"Yeah, dude. That, and I'm actually kind of curious about this whole thing now. Maybe I'll do a few more cases one day. It's way more exciting than I thought. Plus I'm not really annoyed by you as much as I was this morning."

It was like Christmas morning for Kiku. His misty eyes seemed to sparkle at the thought of Alfred not hating him. He didn't know why, but Alfred's opinion meant a lot to him. All Kiku wanted to do was make Alfred like him since he met him yesterday.

Alfred dialed the number for the cab on his phone. It was nearly midnight, and Alfred was starting to get drowsy. He still wanted Matt to help him dig up info on Kiku, though. Alfred could do the research at home, but Matt knew exactly how to find things. He could find out everything about Kiku now that they knew his address.

As Alfred talked to the cab driver on his phone, Kiku looked back at his house for the last time. He frowned as he thought about the bathroom.

Who did he live with?

X

Kiku really did live a boring life. Or rather, a boring death. There was hardly anything to do as a ghost, since you couldn't touch anything. Kiku wondered if that was why so many spirits liked to mess with people. They didn't have anything better to do.

As he roamed the seemingly empty hallway, he bumped into a ghost that he didn't catch out of the corner of his eye. The ghost merely yawned in response, waving his fingers half-heartedly at Kiku.

"I'm so sorry! Wait...ghosts can touch each other?" Kiku asked, astonished.

"Mhm," the ghost replied in a light and sleepy tone. "Though I'm going to The Light in a few minutes...so I won't see you for very much longer. But my name is Heracles."

"Hello, Heracles. I'm Kiku." He stuck out his hand for a handshake.

As soon as the ghost's hand touched his own, Kiku shuddered. It felt like a normal hand, but cold and clammy. And it felt insanely odd to be touching something again. Still, Kiku was grateful to finally touch something tangible after a month of phasing through everything.

"Arthur called me down here to tell me how I died...I said goodbye to all my friends."

"So you're finally moving on?"

"Yes. How far is Arthur on your case?"

Kiku bit his lip. He really didn't want to tell Heracles, just in case the ghost mentioned Alfred to Arthur.

"Oh, he...knows where I live now," Kiku replied.

Heracles smiled. "That's a good sign. My house burned down. Someone burned it down and killed me. And they finally went behind bars. Arthur is going to show me a picture of them so I can get my retribution and go to The Light."

"Wait...you're not going to kill them?"

"Nah," replied Heracles as he waved his hand. "I don't need that. I just need to see that he served his time. However...do you want your killer to be murdered?"

Kiku thought about it for a moment. What did he even want? He wasn't sure if he wanted to go to The Light. What if God wasn't real, like Alfred had said? He'd rather go on living this boring life if it meant that he faded into nothingness.

"I-I'm not sure of anything anymore."

Heracles smiled sleepily as he patted Kiku on the head.

"Nobody is sure. You have plenty of time to figure it out, kid."

Kiku frowned. "Kid? I'm thirty-five years ol-"

The ghost stumbled back as another memory flashed through his head. Yes...he had a youthful face, so everyone would refer to him as a child. He'd get upset and correct them, because he was…

"Thirty-five...I was thirty-five years old…"

Heracles frowned as Kiku stared at the floor, wide-eyed and unmoving. The Greek ghost just shrugged, thinking he'd given the best advice he could, then floated downstairs. Kiku still stood, floating a few feet off the ground, frozen in shock. He could see images of people resting their elbows on his head, calling him small.

He heard whistling coming from down the steps, so he ducked into Alfred's room. Alfred told him to make sure Arthur never saw him, so he intended to follow Alfred's orders.

"Ah...where was the string at?"

Yes, it was Arthur's voice. Kiku peeked out from the wall to see Arthur reaching up for a string in the middle of the hall. He pulled it down, revealing an attic. Arthur slowly pushed the stairs down, then carefully climbed up the creaking, wooden staircase. There was an attic in the house?

Kik waited until Arthur was in the attic before cautiously floating over to them. That would be a lot more interesting than just walking around the house and finding something to amuse himself with.

X

Arthur picked up the old album and dusted it off. The storage space used to be Alfred's, until he wasn't allowed up here any longer. Too many things he couldn't see. It pained Arthur to refuse his son so harshly every time he asked to see the attic, but he knew it was for his own good. He'd be completely overwhelmed with things he couldn't possibly remember.

The cover of the album was a dark mahogany wood with the word "family" carved in gold writing across the top. Arthur slowly pulled back the cover to reveal the first page.

There was the entire staff, laughing in a candid shot Arthur took of them. Alfred, Francis, Matt...and Kiku. Arthur sighed as he remembered that two people in the photo were no longer with them. Poor Kiku was taken away so young and so recently. He still couldn't believe he was gone.

He peeled back another page to show a photo of Alfred and Kiku. It broke his heart every time he saw it. Alfred was behind Kiku, wrapping his arms around him. The two were kissing, both with a grin plastered on their faces. They were celebrating their open house from right after they'd moved in. The house was now up for sale, and it pained Arthur to think about it. He'd had so many good memories in that house...sitting with Alfred and Kiku in their living room as they talked about considering adoption, watching as Alfred went on and on about being a father, and Kiku...as he stared at Arthur's son with nothing but love in his eyes.

Why did Kiku have to go? It was so sudden, and they never found his body. Arthur hadn't seen his ghost, so he assumed Kiku moved on. The boy was way too pure to go anywhere but The Light. Always smiling politely, always showing Alfred that he loved him. He really was the perfect man for his son.

Arthur couldn't bear to look at the rest of the album, so he set in down gently in the cardboard box. Looking around, he noticed the little sweater sticking out of a box. Pochi's sweater. The dog Alfred had gotten for Kiku for Kiku's 32nd birthday. Arthur couldn't have possibly adopted the dog, but he heard that someone took it. That brought him a bit of joy.

Next to the sweater was a box. The box that caused Arthur so much pain and suffering every time he set his eyes on it. That was the box of Alfred's baby clothes.

He walked over and pulled it to him. Carefully pulling back the cardboard lid, he looked at all the small onesies that were neatly stacked on top of one another. Alfred's pacifier say neatly on top, and Arthur stared at it in shock. It was wet.

He slowly reached up to his eyes and watched as another drop fell from his face and landed on the box in front of him. He cried nearly every time he came up to attic to remember everything. The old, British man thought he could handle it...but he never could.

His wife...his American wife. He'd come overseas just for her. They had Alfred together, the most beautiful child Arthur could ever imagine. Once his wife was taken away from him, Alfred was the only person he had left. And Arthur knew the way Alfred was now was completely his fault. He'd turned Alfred that way, but it was to protect him. The boy couldn't know. And if that meant being reverted to his teenage attitude, before his relations had began, so be it.

"Really, though, I wish he would work…" Arthur mumbled under his breath as he folded the box back.

A little black box caught Arthur's eye as he slid the box of baby clothes to the wall. He carefully plucked it from the ground, running his hand over the leather casing. Yes...it was exactly as he thought. He pried open the box to reveal two silver rings, each engraved with a phrase around the band.

"My ring…"

Arthur turned around in shock, paling after hearing a voice coming from behind him. After all the time he'd worked with ghosts, random voices still gave him a fright.

Kiku stood over him, tears running down his face. His slender, blue finger was pointing at the box in Arthur's hand.

"My husband...Alfred was my husband…"

X

Alfred looked up at the sky. New York sure could be rainy sometimes. The cracking sounds of thunder echoed across the sky as rain started to pour down. The young man ran faster as a flash of red was seen next to him. Oh, great. Two red spirits in one night.

Alfred glanced at his watch. It was almost 1 AM. Matt had to be awake because he always watched the late night comedy specials with Canadian comedians. Alfred pulled his jacket tighter and wiped his glasses across his sleeve, trying to hurry down the road.

"Stupid bitch!"

Alfred stopped as he heard a scream coming from behind him. The red spirit had been coming from that direction. He turned around, seeing a man stand over a young woman with his hand raised.

"I'll beat the shit out you, okay? Don't tell me 'no'."

A red spirit...it must have sensed the malice in the man's heart and was now trying to make him beat his wife. Alfred had to intervene.

"Hey, asshole! What do you think you're doing?"

"What? Hey, fuck off, dude. I'm-"

Nobody who beats a person deserves to get away without a good beating themselves. That was Alfred's philosophy. He knew that nobody could ever possibly control themselves once a red spirit possessed them, but they could only enter a person as long as they had hatred running through their veins. The man wasn't evil, but he wasn't good.

"What the fuck?!" the man shouted as he stumbled back. Blood poured from his nose like a faucet. Alfred had hit him good.

"You shouldn't be hitting a girl like that, dude. We gonna have a problem? Because I will kick your ass like there's no fucking tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, asshole. Just leave me and the girl alone. Come on…"

The man grabbed his bloody nose as he pulled at the girl's sleeve. She looked frightened as she went along, looking back at Alfred the whole time. Alfred would have to look into that couple later. He noted the house they went into before hurrying down the street to Matt's apartment.

"Alfred?" he heard someone yelling from a distance. "Is that you?"

Alfred tried to wipe at the beads of water forming on his glasses. "Yeah!" he shouted as he scrunched up his face. He tried to focus on Matt's voice.

"Come on, I'm over here!"

Alfred ran through the rain as he made his way to Matt's stairs. He felt a hand pull him up, then heard the sound of rain beating on an umbrella.

"You're soaking wet, idiot."

Alfred grinned as he pulled off his glasses. Matt was always so nice to him.

"Why the fuck were you beating Basch Zwingli? Here, come inside and I'll make you some tea."

Alfred was lead into the house to dry off. He pried off his socks and shoes, completely soaked. Running a hand through his wet locks, he shivered.

"Basch?"

Matt was in the kitchen, turning on his Keurig. "Yeah, the guy you hit. He's always been really violent. Shoots at people whenever they get on his lawn."

"Violent enough to beat some chick," Alfred sighed.

"Who?"

"I dunno. Some girl with blonde hair. She was in a dress, too. A warmer one, but still a dress. I didn't get a good look at her."

"Hm," said Matt as he pulled out some mugs. "I think that's his sister."

"He called her a bitch or something. Said he was going to hit her."

Matthew frowned as he placed the mug underneath the Keurig. "That's odd. He cares a lot about her. At least it seemed like he did."

"Red spirit."

"Huh?"

"There was a red spirit there. It probably made him do it. Anyone who is hateful enough can get possessed by one. They make them do terrible things."

Matt tapped his chin in thought. "Basch is kind of a hateful guy...but he does care about his sister. I don't think he'd do that...but wow. Maybe he did. All your ghost stuff is so weird."

Alfred walked down the hall to Matt's bathroom so he could ring out his socks. He'd need Matt to search some things for him. The boy was smart, and everyone knew it. He could find out about Kiku in no time.

Alfred placed the socks over the marble sink as he started to drain the water from them. It really had been pouring outside. The door creaked open from behind him.

"Here," Matt handed him a mug. "Hot tea. Hopefully you won't catch a cold."

Alfred took the cup and stared at the beverage. Tea was what his father always drank, so Alfred wasn't terribly fond of it. Nevertheless, he was shivering, so he took a sip.

"We found out some more things about Kiku. I need you to look them up for me."

Matt leaned against the doorframe as he sipped from his mug. "So did I."

"Huh?"

"Did some research after you left. Found out a few things about him. I even found his old work. I'm going to show you, okay?"

Matt's voice sounded shaky and concerned. Alfred couldn't quite place what was off with his friend, but he knew Matt wasn't himself. He almost seemed like he was scared.

"Yeah, sure bro. Gimme a minute to ring my socks out," Alfred said slowly.

"I have a pair in my room. And a new coat, if you'd like to use it. You're kind of soaked."

The two made their way to Matt's room, trying on various hoodies of Matt's. Alfred refused to wear anything about Canada on it. He finally decided on a modest blue one that was from Matt's old high school. After changing his socks, Matt grabbed an umbrella and headed out the door to his car.

Alfred tried his hardest to stay under the umbrella as Matt held it over him. Once he climbed into the passenger seat, Matt made his way around to the driver's side.

"So, you did some research?" Alfred asked as the two buckled up.

"Yes, and I know where he works. It's...not where I thought it was."

Alfred frowned. Matthew seemed like he was incredibly depressed from his tone.

"Something wrong, dude?" Alfred asked.

Matt looked into Alfred's eyes with a painful expression.

"You can never trust anyone, Al."

**Oh ho ho. What's going to happen? And unless it's been a LONG time, please stop asking me to update. The amount of PM's and anon messages on tumblr asking "WHERE'S THE UPDATE?" just makes me not want to. Please don't ask me that. Please. I have a life. I am a real person with a job and a family. It's the holidays. And it's been six fucking days. Six. And I got twelve messages asking me for an update. Maybe I set the bar too damn high for you people and now you expect an update every single day from me or some shit. Some of y'all have become spoiled. I love anyone who likes my stories, but stop bugging me. I will update. Calm down. If I'm not a "nice" author to you anymore because of this little rant, that's your own fault. I am a very nice person. But even I get angry when people are constantly snapping their goddamn fingers like I'm their personal storyteller who needs to hurry up. If you haven't bugged me nonstop about updating, thank you very much. Thank you. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you very much to the people who leave me kind and good reviews. I was stressed beyond belief after seeing "Are you going to update? You're getting kind of lazy…" when I opened up my computer. And someone said "come onnnnnnn. i need my fill of smexy yaoi boys ;)" which is not only cringe-worthy but also rude as hell. Thank you to anyone who is nice. I wasn't talking about you. I had too many people upset with me, thinking it was about them. Were you mean/annoying? No? Then it wasn't about you. Don't worry, small bebs. I still love you. **

Kiku Honda tugged at his shirt. Plain and white, with a slight gray tint to it. Dear God, he hoped it was dressy enough. Alfred told him the restaurant wasn't going to be that fancy. Olive Garden...how fancy was that? Kiku heard a yipping sound coming from the ground and grinned.

"Hey, Pochi!" he said as he picked the dog up. "Daddy has a date today! It's with a total loser, but it'll be fun."

"Loser?"

Kiku whipped around to face his husband, who had a toothbrush hanging from his mouth.

"Who ab you challin' a losher?"

Kiku rolled his eyes and set Pochi down, walking over to Alfred. He smiled devilishly as he pulled down Alfred's collar, bringing the blonde's face to his own.

"You, idiot." He kissed Alfred's cheek. "Now hurry up. I'm hungry."

Alfred nodded, toothbrush in mouth, then ran to the sink to spit. Kiku flopped back on the bed, raising his hand in the air. His silver wedding ring shone in the sunlight peeking through the window above the bed. Kiku smiled as he twisted his hand about, watching as the ring nearly sparkled. It reminded him of the best day of his life.

"Okay, I think I'm ready...you look nice," said Alfred as he emerged from the bathroom.

"It's just a plain shirt. Is that okay? Do you think that'll be okay?"

"It's the Olive Garden, not some five star restaurant. But it's good, trust me."

Kiku walked downstairs to feed his dog, who was barking and running around his feet. Alfred chuckled as he grabbed the keys of the hook, waiting for his husband to feed their pet.

"Hey, you still look handsome! Even when you're feeding the dog!"

Kiku's face turned red. He was bending over. "Alfred!" he shouted.

"What? You're my husband. I can look."

"No," said Kiku as he sighed and dropped the scoop of dry food into the plastic bowl. "That's not it." He walked over to Alfred, keeping his head down.

"I feel old now. I'm thirty-five and you're twenty-six. There's almost ten years here...doesn't that bother you? I must be like an old man to you."

Alfred shrugged as he grabbed Kiku's waist and lead him out the door. "Doesn't matter to me," he contemplated. "Never really has. I love you no matter what."

"Hm...no matter what? Even if I grow super old?"

"Some people die before they can get that old."

Kiku frowned. "Don't say that. And don't talk about work right now. That one client was absolute hell."

"You can't see them," Alfred grumbled. "You just help investigate."

The two got in the car and started down the road. Alfred still liked cheesy pop songs, much to Kiku's annoyance. As Kiku stared out the window, he tried to focus on anything except the songs on the radio.

And that's when he heard it.

"Alfred…?" he asked slowly. "Turn the radio down. Do you hear tha-"

But he didn't get to finish, because an explosion was right in front of their eyes. Fire and smoke clouded Alfred's vision, causing him to lose control of the wheel. It seemed like time was moving a lot slower than it normally did. Kiku watched as Alfred started to scream, flames enveloping the car. They both seemed to fly up in the air for a moment, and Kiku couldn't hear anything. There was nothing but silence as the car flew off the road and rolled down to the ground below them. The road was built on a cliff, so it was quite a drop. They both had their seatbelt on, but that didn't stop Kiku's head from slamming into the roof, knocking him out.

When he woke up, Kiku was in a dark space. He looked around as his vision adjusted, trying to focus on the person in front of him. Alfred...Alfred was right there. He could see the mess of blonde hair.

"Al...fred…" Kiku croaked. "Can you h-hear me? Al...Al…"

Alfred didn't respond. Kiku's head was still spinning, so he was unable to see if his husband's chest was moving. All he knew was that Alfred wasn't answering him.

"Alfred...p...lease...Alfred…"

He stared at Alfred's face, seemingly asleep, as Kiku's hand reached for him. The ring glowed in the moonlight as it slowly faded from Kiku's vision. He could feel something sticky running down his face, covering his eyes.

"Alfred...don't...don't die on me...please...please...I love you…"

And everything went dark.

X

"A spell."

"Huh?"

Arthur twirled the stirring stick in his teacup. "I put a spell on him to make him forget."

Kiku still couldn't believe it. He'd just remembered everything. His life with Alfred. All of their fights, their kisses, all the restaurants they'd eaten at, all their conversations they had. It was all locked away in the ring. Kiku had stared at that ring in every single memory he had, and it brought everything back to him.

"B-but how is magic real?" Kiku stuttered.

Arthur glared at the ghost with an annoyed expression. "Magic is about as real as ghosts are! I didn't want my son to remember all of that. You were everything to him, Kiku. I was afraid Alfred would up and kill himself once he discovered you were dead."

"I want him to know who I am."

"Kiku, please-"

"I don't want to be an annoying ghost to him. I want him to know that I'm his husband."

Arthur grumbled as he pulled out the photo album he'd taken downstairs with him. Kiku had asked to see it, so he could remember even more. It was Arthur's duty to help him, especially after the ghost turned out to be his son-in-law.

"Look here," Arthur said, pointing at the first photo. "Do you remember this?"

Kiku floated over to see the picture. The one of he and Alfred...and Matthew with his father. They all worked together. They all helped out Arthur. Alfred and Kiku actually worked for Arthur, but Francis and Matthew would occasionally stop by to help out.

"That's odd...I thought that material objects could trigger memories?" Kiku asked.

"Hm? How'd you figure that out?"

"Alfred told me…"

Arthur nodded. "Good. The boy still remembered his training. Well, he did know all of that before he met you. I just erased all of his memories that had you in them…"

"But...Alfred said ghosts will remember things through objects, never people. That explains why I didn't recognize him, you, or Matthew. But how did I not recognize my own workplace? I spent so much time here…"

"All ghosts are different. I believe you had so many memories with the rings that you needed to see them to remember everything. Good thing I went up to the attic, huh?" Arthur let out a chuckle as he looked down at the floor, his eyes glazing over.

"Arthur…?" Kiku asked gently.

"I missed you, Kiku. I missed you so much." Arthur looked up, his eyes filled with tears. "You treated my son the way nobody else ever did. And the only person I could ever talk about you with was Matthew, since Alfred didn't remember and Francis was taken from me as well. Now it pains me to see you sitting in front of me, your whole life gone…"

Arthur wiped at his eyes and hiccuped. "I miss you. And even though you're here right now, you're still gone forever. Kiku...I missed you...I still do...I can't even touch you. You're just a shell of your former self. God, Kiku, I'm so sorry that you're no longer here and you're never coming back..."

Kiku had never really thought about it since he'd died. He was gone. He was nothing but mist with a personality now. He wasn't human, and he couldn't be one again. Kiku stared at his hands, which were now cold and blue. He remembered what it felt like to touch things, hold things...and now his hands did nothing more than faze through objects. He could never hold someone or pick something up...his jet black hair was reduced to a cerulean fog…the hands that had been colored with life were now stripped bare. He was cold. And he was dead.

"Arthur...it's okay. I understand that I am dead and I am never coming back. But I need to be avenged. I need to find out who killed me."

Arthur wiped at his eyes with his palm. "B-but you died in a car crash. They never found your body, so maybe something happened to you there. You remember anything else?"

Kiku thought hard about it. He had obviously died after the car crash, there was no mistaking that. He closed his eyes and never opened them again. But...something was missing. Something had happened between his death and his respawning as a ghost. And he couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was off…

"Maybe," Arthur contemplated. "Alfred forgot to do maintenance on his car. That would count as him killing you."

"No…" Kiku mumbled. He thought about all that had happened. He tried to add everything up. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, a light bulb went off.

"Where is Matthew?" Kiku asked.

"Huh?"

"Matt. Where is Matt Williams? Call him right now. I need to ask him something."

"Didn't you say Alfred was going over there? Neither of them have cell phones. I don't think we could call them. Do you want to head over there?"

Kiku stopped hovering above the chair and stood up, a few feet off the ground.

"Yes. Because Matthew killed me."

X

The two frantically swerved around the busy streets of New York, trying to get to Matt's house as quickly as they could.

"What makes you so sure it was him?" Arthur yelled over the blaring of horns.

"Alfred said that people get possessed by red ghosts if they hate something enough. Matt hated Alfred because he'd never speak with his father, right? So something tells me Matt, being as smart as he is, tampered with our car in hopes of killing one of us. He also gave us false info and said he knew nothing about me! He's hiding something. He acted like he didn't know me personally and he did."

Arthur did a sharp turn, ignoring the man trying to chase him down the road.

"A valid point, Kiku. You always were a good investigator. But why wasn't your body ever found?"

"That's what I'm going to ask him," Kiku said with a stern glare. "What did he do with my body?"

Arthur suddenly stopped the car and ran to the house as fast as he could, Kiku following behind. Arthur pulled out his copy of Matt's house key frantically, trying to jam it into the door. The apartments were stacked neatly, almost looking like individual houses. They seemed nice, but were secretly cheap. The keys were so hard to fit into the locks.

Eventually, Arthur got the door open and the duo ran inside. They both yelled for Alfred before realizing that neither of the boys were home.

"Oh God...he can't be alone with Matt if he really is a murderer!" Arthur yelled, looking in every room.

"There's no way of telling where he went…" Kiku moaned. Just then, he felt a presence behind him.

"We can show you where they went," said a Reaper with snowy white hair.

X

"Is this...where Kiku worked?" Alfred said as he stared up at the old warehouse. "I thought this was abandoned."

"He was a construction worker in this building when they tore it apart. I'm sure we can find something about him in here…now go on inside."

Alfred shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. It was still raining, but the warehouse door was right in front of them. It wasn't that long of a walk, so Alfred just walked over to the door, casually observing the lock-

...until he heard a gunshot.

"Matt, what the fuck?!" Alfred yelled.

Matt stood a few feet away, gun pointed at Alfred. He merely gestured towards the door.

"I shot the lock off," he said in a quiet voice. "Nothing more. Go ahead, open it."

Alfred opened the door with caution, noting the scraps of metal that were shot off the wooden frame. Alfred let out a nervous chuckle as he edged the door open.

"You know," he laughed, "I thought you were practicing your aim to shoot me or something."

Matthew didn't say anything.

"Well, that's the door...wow. It's kind of a big space, huh?" Alfred noted as he walked around the warehouse. He heard the sound of the door slowly closing, and the whole room went black.

"Hard to see, though...Matt? Matt, where are you?"

The sound of another gunshot frightened the blonde, so he jumped away and started to shake with fear. He could almost feel the bullet whizzing by his arm.

"What the fuck-"

"Hold still, Alfred."

"Matt?! This isn't funny, bro. Stop fucking...shooting at me!"

Another gunshot, this time on Alfred's left. Matt was getting closer to him, and Alfred could feel it. He searched around for anywhere to go, anywhere to hide. But Alfred could barely see anything. It was way too dark, and there was nothing but the sounds of footsteps a few feet away.

"Alfred, please hold still."

"Why?" Alfred screamed, running away from the voice. He soon realized this was a dumb strategy, seeing how Matt could hear his voice and find out where he was. Alfred felt his hand graze something behind him...it was some sort of wooden flat stacked up against the wall. He made his way behind it swiftly but quietly, trying to hide from his friend.

"Alfred?" Matt shouted into the darkness. "Where are you?"

Alfred was shaking. He didn't want to move, lest he be found out. Why was Matthew shooting at him? The question echoed over and over in his mind as he thought about how close he was coming to death.

"Alfred…" Matthew sighed as Alfred heard another gunshot, this one far away from him. "Please come out. Let me explain everything to you before I kill you. We can do that, okay? Don't make me kill you without you knowing why."

Another gunshot, this time a bit closer. Alfred pulled his knees to him, trying his hardest to stay hidden from the psychotic human being. Why? Why, Matt? Alfred tried to suppress a whimper.

Suddenly, a laugh echoed throughout the empty warehouse. A laugh that Alfred had never heard from the usually quiet friend he once had, and it terrified him. Matt was completely insane, and Alfred had no clue why.

"I only have two more!" Matthew yelled into the room as he cackled. "Don't make me waste this chance, Al! Please come out and let me tell you. You wanna know, right? Nobody else would ever fucking tell you!"

Nobody else would ever tell him...what was that supposed to mean? Alfred was not going to risk his life for answers.

"Your dad doesn't love you enough to tell you, Alfred. I do. I'll tell you. You might as well know since you're going to die. I think you deserve to know, right?"

Matt was kicking down plywood and boxes on the other side of the room. He wasn't anywhere close to Alfred, but the boy mentally prepared himself for when Matt would kick near him. Making any noise meant death in the situation.

"Kiku Honda was your husband, Alfred! And you used to give a shit about me until he came into your life!"

Another kick.

"He was likeable, I'll give him that. I liked Kiku just fine. But once you two settled down in your stupid fucking house, you forgot all about me and my father. That's all I ever asked from you. I just wanted to see my dad, Alfred!"

The kicks were getting closer, and Alfred could hear that Matt's voice was cracking. He was about to cry.

"I killed him, Alfred. I messed with the engine in your car. You two were going out to dinner, and you told me. I set a bomb in your engine. And it killed Kiku! I really wanted to kill you, but your husband was enough for me. Then Arthur decided to spare you the pain and misery by erasing everything!"

A kick was heard right next to Alfred.

"All I ever wanted was to make you cry as much as I did. That's not too selfish, is it? Your jackass of a father, the one that you still have…you still have a father…"

Matt sank to the ground, done with kicking boxes. Everything in his life was useless. He'd lost his father, the only person who had ever cared about him. Matt never had any friends. No other relatives, no friendly coworkers. Everyone walked by him, ignored him, forgot his name. Except his dad. And when he lost his father, he lost everything.

Alfred...he thought Alfred was his friend. That he was willing to help and provide him with answers. But he soon moved away, busy with Kiku and not having enough time for a grief-stricken friend.

"He erased your memory of your loved one after he died. Did I get that? No! I never got anything from anyone my whole life...the one person I had was taken away from me. And I still remember him every day. You don't have to! Your loved one never existed to you, and you still have a dad who cares about you!"

Matt smiled. "Well, guess what? I'm telling you everything. You'd better remember Kiku. That ghost you've been helping out is your husband. You two loved each other more than anything in the world, and everyone knew it. The happy fucking couple. Do you remember now, Alfred?"

Alfred was completely shocked. Kiku...his husband? No, he couldn't remember that...Alfred had never met Kiku before. He'd never seen his face or even heard of his name. And here Matt was saying that they were married. It was too insane to be true...and yet he felt like it was. He knew he'd seen something in Kiku that he'd never seen in anyone else. His smile, his kindness, his overwhelmingly polite and charming attitude...it wasn't that hard to believe they'd been in love at one point.

Matt was sobbing hysterically, and Alfred looked up above the boy. Right above Matthew's head, a red spirit was swirling around him, growing larger by the minute. He ghost's facial expression...it looked like it was screaming in horror. Alfred knew it. A red spirit that fed from sorrow.

"M-Matt…" Alfred whispered from behind the boards. "Matt, please put the gun down. We can talk it out, right? Please...I care about you-"

"Bull-fucking-shit, Alfred."

The red spirit grew larger. If Matt kept that up, it would eventually engulf him and take over all of his emotions, taking away every bit of his humanity. It was how serial killers felt nothing for their victims. Alfred certainly didn't want to become a victim from his friend.

"Matt, let me talk to you for a second, okay? One second. Come on. Listen to me, alright? Can I hug you?"

Silence.

"I'm coming out now...please don't shoot me. I wanna say something to you."

Alfred crawled out from behind the boards slowly, trying to listen in on Matt's sobbing. The ghost was swirling around violently, mimicking the sounds of Matthew's crying.

"Matt...where are you? You right here?"

Surprisingly, all he heard was a 'yes' in the form of a whimper. No gunshot, no cursing. Alfred inched forward, trying his hardest not to let the spirit know he could see it. He reached a hand out, feeling Matt's arm brush against his own. As quickly as he could, he wrapped Matt in his arms for a hug.

"Don't do anything you're gonna regret, okay? I forgive you. We can sort this whole thing out," Alfred said as Matt sobbed harder.

"I-I'm gonna go to j-j-jail...I won't h-have a life…" Matt choked on his words.

"Listen, Matt. I need you to calm down. There's a spirit feeding from your anger and sorrow, and I need you to-"

The red spirit let out a shrill scream as it engulfed Matt's whole body, striking Alfred and knocking him across the floor. Matt stayed hunched over, making no noise as the spirit evaporated within him, eventually clearing out into a mist. It all happened so suddenly, and Alfred had no idea how to stop it. The mist was completely gone, but Matthew didn't move.

"Matt? Are you...are…"

Matthew stood up slowly, keeping his head down. He walked over to Alfred, who had nowhere to go. He had been knocked against the wall with nothing to hide behind. Matt could feel his presence, and he knew exactly where Alfred was sitting.

"I killed Kiku. I killed him. You were getting too close to finding out...and now I'm going to kill you."

"W-wait, Matt...please...uh...t-tell me what...please…" Alfred tried his hardest to stall, but he wasn't quite sure why. He knew that he'd met his end.

"I told you everything, Alfred…"

"What...w-what…" Alfred tried to think of a question as he saw the gleam of a gun through the darkness. "What did you do with his body?"

"I buried him."

_Bang._

**Wowzers, you guys. That was stressful to write. Also, I'm loving Fire Emblem and the new Smash Bros. I just got them today. And New Leaf for Christmas! Alpha Sapphire is on its way from Amazon...ask me for my 3DS friend code if you want it. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry that it's on the shorter side.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry that I torture everyone with cliffhangers. Apparently, I'm known for that. Oopsie daisy. Also, this is gonna end up being the last chapter. I know I said seven. I cut a lot out because it just didn't go the way I planned. Sometimes that happens. My next fic is a trans Kiku fic. Male to female. Matt will be female to male. It's Ameripan still, and it's very cute and fluffy. So that will be up next! And there's some blood in this chapter. Just sayin'.**

"They went in here...in this warehouse."

Gilbert and Elizabeta pulled up to the old, decaying building. They'd watched as Alfred and Matthew parked near there, and knew that something was up. They'd thought it best to fetch Arthur and Kiku first, seeing how they knew the two better than themselves. After all, who was to say it wasn't a normal thing that Alfred and Matthew did? Still, it seemed suspicious to the Reapers, and apparently they were correct.

"Why do you drive a regular car?" Kiku asked as the four got out of the vehicle.

"Did you expect us to drive a motorcycle with flames on it when we weren't doing our Reaper jobs?" Gilbert replied with a laugh.

"Kinda…"

"Come on!" shouted Elizabeta. "We've got to move!"

She pulled out her scythe, even though she was wearing her normal clothing. After all, the two were off duty. Elizabeta was a strategic and cautious human being. She knew when her scythe was needed.

"Kiku, Matt can't see or hear you. Everyone else can. You go in there first and shout what's happening."

Kiku nodded and slowly floated through the door, trying to make out anything happening in the darkness. He couldn't quite hear anything except the muffled sounds of speech coming from the corner. He made his way over to the voices, trying to make out the figures in the blackened room.

"I buried him."

Then, Kiku heard a gunshot.

"Alfred? Alfred! W-wha...help! Elizabeta, Arthur, Gilbert...there's a gun in here!"

"Kiku?"

Kiku whipped around after hearing his beloved's voice. Alfred sounded like a frightened puppy, scared and shaking. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Alfred? It's so dark, I-"

"What the fuck? 'Kiku?' Where are you, Alfred?" Matt said with a sigh. "I gotta put in a few more bullets...look at what you're making me do…"

Matt fumbled with his gun as Alfred crawled away, trying to use Kiku's soft glow as a light. After all, Matt was unable to see the ghost. As long as Alfred stayed by Kiku, he could leave.

"Hm...okay, three more should do it. Come here, Alfred."

Silence.

"Alfred, you deserve to die. Just come here."

The floorboard creaked underneath Alfred's weight, giving away their location. Before Matthew even had time to react, the door of the old warehouse swung open. Elizabeta and Gilbert's bright car lights were on, flooding the room. Alfred squinted as he stood up, running over to them as fast as he could.

"Matt…" Arthur said with a sad sigh. "Don't shoot us, please. We're just here to take Alfred. You don't have to do this."

Matt merely looked down at his gun. His expression really wasn't one of anger nor happiness. He looked devoid of any feelings as he raised his gun at Alfred, preparing to shoot.

"Stop!" Arthur screamed.

"Sorry, Al-"

Arthur ran as fast as he could and tackled Matt to the ground. He tried to pin him down, but alas, he was getting older, and Matt was quite strong. Matt struggled with Arthur, trying to kick him off. Eventually, he took note of the gun in his hand.

"Matt! Get the fuck off my da-"

_Bang._

Arthur looked down at his stomach, horrified at the sight. A deep scarlet, almost black, started to seep through his clothing. He lost all of his words as he tumbled to the side, clutching his abdomen while choking. Arthur's green eyes were wide in shock as Matt stood up, reaching for the gun again.

"Oh, hell no," Alfred mumbled as he dashed over to the pistol. He and Matt reached for it at the same time, their fingers barely grazing the metal before Alfred took a fist to the stomach. Luckily for him, he was much stronger than Matthew. He retaliated the blow, reaching for the gun again before Matt grabbed his leg and pulled him down. Alfred kicked the pistol as he fell, sending it flying across the room.

Matt scowled upon noticing his weapon being out of reach. He grabbed Alfred's wrists as fast as he possibly could, pinning him on the ground. As he leaned over Alfred, his hands switched to the young man's neck. Unable to stop him from the immense pressure, Alfred had no choice but to choke as his own hands feebly reached up in a vain attempt to pry away the ones squeezing the life out of him. There was no gun. Elizabeta and Gilbert were helping his wounded father. Alfred had no hope. Soon enough, two more ghosts would be in the room.

"Ki...ki...ku…" he gagged. "H...e...l..."

"Die already, dammit!" Matt yelled as he tightened his grip. He knew that it was only a matter of seconds before Alfred could finally be dead.

Kiku stared on in horror. There wasn't much that he was able to do. His husband was dying before his very eyes, and he was nothing more than a useless spirit. Just a cloud of blue mist that wasn't even human. The gun was at his feet, but he couldn't pick it up. He couldn't help Alfred. He couldn't help him...he wanted to help him...because he loved him. Kiku loved Alfred more than anything in the entire world. And he would do whatever it took to save his life.

Kiku looked down at his hands. An odd feeling coursed through them, as if he could feel wind blowing through the door. His hands...were not transparent. They were still a pale blue, yes, but they looked solid. He could no longer see the floor through them. It had happened. Kiku now had a reason to touch something.

That reason was saving Alfred's life.

Alfred's face turned a deep red as Matt continued to choke him. He could feel his vision growing blurry as starlike shapes dotted in his vision. He was dying. Alfred's best friend was choking the life out of him because he had been selfish. Alfred never wanted to help Matthew with his father, so now he was about to meet him again. And all because he'd never helped Matt.

_Matt_, he thought as he closed his eyes, _I'm so sorry._

A gunshot was heard as Alfred felt something on his chest. Something slammed down onto him, so he slowly peeked open an eye. A hot sensation was running down his right side as he looked at a head of light brown hair. Matt had fallen on top of him as he was shot in the head, blood pouring from the side.

"M-Matt?" Alfred choked out as he gained his breath again. He sat up and shoved the body off of him, scared out of his mind. The blood seemed like it never ended, pouring endlessly from Matt's lifeless face. His blue eyes were wide open behind cracked glasses, almost like his dead body was in shock as well.

"Alfred, what happened to Matthew?" shouted Elizabeta from a few yards away. Arthur was still coherent but wincing in pain as the two Reapers tried to help him.

A red mist arose from Matthew's body, forming a into the shape of a human being. Everyone watched on in horror as Matt's spirit came into a being, seemingly in a haze.

"Wha…?" he said as his eyes flickered open. He stumbled around, unable to focus on anything in the room. The new ghost looked down at the body on the floor below him.

"What is that? Is...is that?" he floated above his own face, staring back at him with cold, dead eyes. Matt gasped as he took in what was happening. His hands shook as he brought them out in front of him, a rosey red mist. He flipped them from front to back, watching as the wall could be seen right through his arms. Looking down and noticing just how high he was off the ground, Matt started to tremble.

"What happened to me?" he whimpered as he looked at his body. "Did...did I die?"

Kiku dropped the gun, unable to hold it any longer. The clinking sound made Matt jump as he noticed what fell from Kiku's grasp.

"You...you...Kiku…"

Matt looked back down at his body. Blood poured from a single bullet to the brain.

"Kiku...I'll...I'll fucking kill you!"

"You already did," said Kiku with a smile.

Matt slumped his shoulders, muttering and wringing his now ghostly hands. Arthur sat up in the corner of the room, looking grim.

"Matt," he said. "You know what a red spirit is, don't you?"

Matt turned around slowly, trying his hardest to take everything in. Alfred had educated him numerous times, per his own request. Red spirits were bad people, blue spirits were the good ones. And Matthew…

"Oh...oh no…" Matthew's face dropped as he noticed the Reapers advancing toward him. "I...no. What did I do? I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

"You killed Kiku Honda, the husband of your best friend. You then attempted to kill said best friend and his father. Matthew Williams, you are an evil spirit and you cannot go back," Gilbert said with a tone of serious intensity, unlike his usual attitude.

"I...I'm so sorry. Alfred, Arthur...Kiku. I-I didn't mean to. I don't know why I-"

"You must have your soul reaped and sent down below. There is nothing more you can do as a red spirit," Elizabeta stated coldly as she raised her scythe.

"W-wait! Does this mean…" Matthew lowered his head. "I can see my dad again?"

Arthur grunted as he tried to prop himself up. "Francis was blue. You're never going to see him for the rest of eternity, Matt. Killing someone was not the answer, and you probably would have seen him otherwise. Now you must face the consequences."

Matthew looked like he was going to cry. Never in his life had he been so terrified. As he gazed at the pointed scythe above him, all he wanted was his papa with him to comfort him.

_Matthew, you're my special child. I love you more than anything in this world._

Matt closed his eyes tightly as the scythe swung down and pierced his body, setting him ablaze. A crackling of fire blared throughout the room, paired with the agonizing wails of Matthew as he felt every minute of it. His soul burned as he knew that this was what awaited him forever. The rest of eternity he would remain burning, just as he had burned those around him with his temper. All the while knowing that he would never see his father again. The fire died down, leaving behind nothing except smoke and the charred remains of the soul, which eventually shriveled away into the air. Matt was gone for all eternity.

Nobody knew what to say, and they didn't have long until a distraction came. A blindingly white light shone upon the room as the four humans shielded their eyes, looking away from the light. Eventually it died down to a calming glow, a vanilla colored spirit hovering before them.

"Kiku…" Alfred breathed heavily as he stared at the shimming apparition before him. Kiku was no longer blue, but an off-white ghost casting a soft and calming sense around the room. His murder and been solved, and he had gained his retribution. There was no need for him to stay on Earth for much longer.

Arthur muttered something under his breath as he stared at Alfred, concentrating on the words. Elizabeta and Gilbert had no idea what was going on, so they backed away from all the commotion.

Alfred felt something in his mind...as if memories were suddenly coming back to him. His head was filled with nothing but moments he had with Kiku...the day that he met the adorable Asian man waiting for the subway...when he first asked him out...their first date in the park, and all the sandwiches they ate together...how happy Kiku made him when they first kissed...every date that led up to the day that Alfred finally proposed, giving Kiku a shining silver ring. Their whole lives together that stopped so suddenly, before Alfred even had a chance to grow old with the one he loved.

"Kiku…" Alfred whimpered as his eyes filled with tears. "Kiku…!"

He ran forward and hugged the spirit, tears pouring down his face. Kiku was still hovering off the ground, but was now tangible. The ghost stoked his lover's hair as Alfred buried his face in Kiku's shirt, sobbing heavily.

"Kiku, please don't leave me...I never even got to say goodbye to you. I never got to spend the rest of my life with you!" Alfred cried out as he stared into Kiku's eyes with a look of pain.

"I know, Alfred," Kiku replied as he cupped Alfred's face. The boy reached up and grabbed Kiku's hand, holding onto his touch. "I have to go now. I wish I could stay with you, but I died. You can say goodbye to me now."

Kiku's being started to fade as he rose upwards, Alfred reaching for him. The spirit smiled sadly at Alfred from above.

Elizabeta rushed forward. "Kiku!" she cried. "You have to know that Gilbert and I were the ones who took your dog! That's how we knew your house! He's fine, and we love him very much." She looked as if she were about to cry, but was holding everything in.

Gilbert shot her a strange look. Elizabeta looked over at him, smiling as her eyes welled up with tears.

"I just thought that since he gained his memories, he'd want to know what happened to Pochi."

"Really?" Kiku exclaimed. His expression softened as he closed his eyes. "That makes me happy." He began to fade away, almost a translucent figure.

"I love you, Alfred," Kiku said, barely above a whisper.

"I love you too!"

"I'll always be watching over you, okay?"

Alfred collapsed to the ground, crying on his hands and knees as Kiku vanished.

X

Alfred shuffled through files, trying to sort everything out for the Christmas party. After all, ghosts had to have a bit of fun in their lives. After Alfred realized that he'd been a happy person for most of his adult life, he'd regained the happy-go-lucky attitude he once had. And dammit, Christmas parties were fun.

"Hm...how many ghosts were able to touch things again? Old English dude, that one girl with the side braid...what was her name? Fuck it, I'll just get a lot of cups."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Alfred shouted as the door creaked open. It was Gilbert, carrying a mug of apple cider.

"Here, man. Elizabeta made some and I thought you might like it. You're workin' hard, bro." He handed the piping hot mug to Alfred.

"Thanks," Alfred said with a grin. However, his smile soon faded.

"Matt used to make cider for me whenever I came over," he mumbled as he took a sip.

"Someone finally bought his apartment, Arthur said. And don't worry about it, man. Cops only found his handprints on the gun since Kiku killed him. They thought it was a suicide. Kinda was."

"Huh?"

"He brought it upon himself."

Alfred shrugged. "Yeah. He did. But I feel bad for him, since all he wanted to do was see his dad. I could tell that Kiku felt bad for him, too. Plus I grew up with the guy."

"You two feel bad for him?! He killed Kiku and almost killed you!" Gilbert laughed. "He was a red spirit, man. Don't worry about him."

"I know. But he was possessed because of sadness and grief. I forgave him, and Kiku did too. He wasn't in his right mind. Matt was a good guy until his dad died."

"Well, he's in Hell now. Sorry, man. Enjoy your cider."

Gilbert hopped off the desk as Alfred sighed. The albino Reaper always had a way of keeping things painfully blunt. It hurt Alfred whenever he thought about Matt, but when he glanced at the picture of he and Kiku's wedding...he didn't feel so bad anymore.

Kiku...his precious Kiku. The man was smiling back at him through the glass. Alfred knew it was just a photo and Kiku was only smiling at the camera, but it made him happy to look at it. After they'd dug up Kiku's body and had a proper funeral, all Alfred could imagine was how lonely Kiku must feel to be buried in the earth yet again.

He tried to shake away the thought. No, Kiku was in a better place. At least, that's what some people liked to think. Alfred still wasn't sure about the afterlife. All he knew was that Kiku was no longer with him in his current one, and that made him terribly lonely. He twisted at the two wedding rings on his finger, trying to remember what Kiku's touch was like. Soft and gentle, always looking up at Alfred with those chocolate brown eyes…

Alfred opened up his desk drawer and sighed. He missed Kiku every second of the day. Nothing ever seemed to numb the pain, except for being extremely busy helping ghosts. Luckily, Elizabeta and Gilbert had started to help out with Arthur as well. It felt nice to have company around him.

"Hm?" Alfred said aloud as he noticed another one of the peculiar things he'd been finding around since Kiku died. This one was in his desk drawer. Gilbert must have been playing pranks on him.

"Not funny, Gilbert," he muttered as the doorbell rang. He heard the sounds of Pochi barking as some sort of customer came to the front door. Alfred stretched and popped his back as he stood up to join everyone.

"Cute dog! I love doggies!" the man said. He had reddish brown hair and one strand that seemed to defy the laws of physics. Bending down, he pet Pochi on the head.

"He was my late husbands dog," said Alfred as he came out of his office.

"Hm...I see. Well, speaking of late husbands, I need your help."

Arthur stopped washing dishes with Elizabeta and turned around to face the man, who was now tugging shyly at his shirt.

"I...I need your help. You guys help with ghosts, right? ...Right?"

"Yes," said Arthur, drying his hands on a towel.

"I need help talking to my Ludwig! Can you please help me?" the man pleaded, nearly falling on his knees.

"Yeah, of course," said Arthur as he welcomed the stranger in. "Come inside and tell me all about him."

Alfred yawned as he walked up the stairs, ready for another day of solving murders. It was a hard job, but when you were able to help people in that way, why wouldn't you? He twisted at his rings again, thinking about Kiku as a spirit, when he noticed another one of the mysterious objects on the ground.

"Dammit, Gilbert!" he yelled. "Stop leaving white feathers everywhere!"

"I'm not!" he heard Gilbert scream from the kitchen. "I don't even know what you're talking about!"

Alfred sighed and rolled his eyes, plucking the feather from off the ground. It looked way too large to belong to any bird he had ever seen. It seemed almost unreal with how insanely beautiful it looked as well. Alfred liked to take them all and put them in a jar, hoping to find out what bird they belonged to one day. He stuffed it in his pocket, putting it away until he got home.

Little did he know, they did not belong to a bird. In an entirely different plane of existence, two men were watching the Helper as he opened the door to the filing office.

"Why do you do that?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you drop down your feathers for him?"

Kiku turned around the face Heracles. Kiku was constantly watching Alfred, and Heracles never stopped bugging him with questions.

"I'm his guardian angel," Kiku replied.

"I know that. But why do you have to drop down the feathers? You won't have any wings eventually."

"Oh, hush." Kiku stared down at Alfred and gently pulled another feather from his wings. "I'm going to drop them down until he's happy. I only do it when he thinks about me."

"Do you think he'll ever know they're from you?" Heracles asked.

"Maybe not," Kiku said. "But as long as Alfred is content, I am content. And I don't think he's gotten over me. This is the way to show him I'm still here for him."

"You can't just keep intervening in car accidents like you did last month," Heracles sighed.

"I want Alfred to live a long life. That's what guardian angels do."

Heracles shrugged as he flew off, ready to take a nap. Kiku merely stared down at Alfred as he dropped another feather down, watching Alfred twist Kiku's wedding ring again.

"I love you, Alfred. I'll always be watching over you, okay?"

End.

**I hope you guys liked the ending! I'm still not sure if I feel bad for Matt or not. I'm kind of on the fence about it. He did something awful...but it wasn't really him? I dunno. And just as a heads up, I am an atheist. This fic was not meant to be religious at all. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell (or angels), but I added them in there because it would be pretty boring without it. So please don't be offended by the mild religious references. For all we know, Heaven could be everyone's version of Heaven. Maybe Buddhist people can get reincarnated in this fic. I'm not sure. I tried to leave everything up in the air and up to the reader's interpretation.**


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